Adolf Hitler was born on 20 April 1889 in Braunau am Inn, Austria-Hungary. He was the fourth of six children to Alois Hitler and Klara Pölzl. Following his father's promotion, the family moved to Passau, Germany, in 1892, and later to Linz, Austria. Hitler's early life was marked by conflict with his father and the death of his younger brother, which deeply affected him. After his father's death in 1903, Hitler's academic performance declined, and he left school in 1905 without a clear career path.In 1907, Hitler moved to Vienna to pursue a career in art but was rejected by the Academy of Fine Arts. He lived in poverty, developing a passion for architecture and music while being exposed to antisemitic rhetoric. In 1913, he moved to Munich, Germany, and volunteered for the Bavarian Army at the outbreak of World War I. He served as a dispatch runner and was decorated for bravery, receiving the Iron Cross. The war experience intensified his German nationalism and shaped his future ideology.After the war, Hitler joined the German Workers' Party in 1919, which later became the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi Party). He quickly rose to prominence due to his oratory skills and radical ideas, including antisemitism and nationalism. In 1923, he attempted a coup known as the Beer Hall Putsch, which failed, leading to his imprisonment. During this time, he wrote Mein Kampf, outlining his political ideology and plans for Germany.Upon his release, Hitler rebuilt the Nazi Party, capitalizing on the economic turmoil of the Great Depression. By 1932, the Nazis became the largest party in the Reichstag. On 30 January 1933, Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany. Following the Reichstag Fire in February 1933, he pushed through the Reichstag Fire Decree, which suspended civil liberties and allowed for the arrest of political opponents. The Enabling Act passed in March 1933, granting Hitler the power to enact laws without parliamentary consent, effectively establishing a legal dictatorship.After President Hindenburg's death in August 1934, Hitler consolidated power, merging the presidency with the chancellorship and becoming Führer. His regime implemented aggressive policies, including rearmament and expansionism, which led to the invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, marking the beginning of World War II. Hitler's foreign policy aimed at acquiring Lebensraum (living space) for the German people, leading to the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 and the declaration of war against the United States later that year.Throughout the war, Hitler was directly involved in military strategy and the implementation of the Holocaust, which resulted in the genocide of approximately six million Jews and millions of others deemed undesirable. His leadership style was characterized by autocracy and a reliance on propaganda, fostering a cult of personality.As the war turned against Germany, Hitler's decisions became increasingly erratic. By early 1945, Allied forces were closing in on Berlin. On 29 April 1945, he married Eva Braun in the Führerbunker. The following day, as Soviet troops approached, Hitler committed suicide, and Braun took cyanide. Their bodies were subsequently burned in the garden of the Reich Chancellery. Hitler's regime left a legacy of destruction, with millions dead and a devastated Europe.